National Apprenticeship Week: Skills for life

This week, 10^th-16^th February, is National Apprenticeship week in the UK. This celebration of apprenticeships and the acknowledgement of the amazing skills that can be learned for life, is now in its eighteenth year. Apprenticeships are no longer only the domain of school leavers starting out on a new career, but can also be a fantastic opportunity for employees looking to progress in their career or even kick start a new career path. Here at Parvalux we have 13 current apprentices and are proud to be contributing to the future workforce, by providing them with new skills they can carry forward.

Why choose an apprenticeship?

The apprentices at Parvalux decided on this career path for various reasons. Daria Promna (Intralogistics’ Coordinator) decided to take an apprenticeship because her: “previous experience as a team leader was significantly different from the working system in our company. This caused many difficulties in leading the team and achieving daily goals. It also led to increased stress, not only for me but also for the team members.” Another apprentice with a team leadership background, Dan Mota (Internal Logistics Team Leader), felt the apprenticeship would allow him to “develop my skills to hopefully in the future become a manager.” Harrison Penfold (Production Engineer) on the other hand joined the apprenticeship scheme after finishing school as he realised that “an educational only learning experience wasn’t a good fit” for him and instead; “needed a hands-on career that allowed me to involve myself in the problem and not just the theory. I wanted to be able to spend the majority of my time learning from more experienced people who were able to hone and develop my skills so that I could become a skilled person myself. Having an income to progress my personal goals was also beneficial.”

How does an apprenticeship work?

An apprenticeship enables the apprentice to learn whilst they are in paid employment. Typically 80% of the week would be in a paid role, and 20% would be off-the-job training which is normally at a college, university or other third party training provider. At the end of the apprenticeship period there will often be a recognised qualification which can be carried forward on the apprentice’s CV. Not only are there no tuition fees within this programme for the apprentice but they will also be earning a wage throughout the learning period. However, this is not an easy balance and it takes dedication, motivation and a willingness to learn. Harrison realised there were some sacrifices he needed to make, but clearly believes this was worth the effort. “An apprenticeship takes discipline, while your friends at university may be at social events and not working on their assignments, you will need to prioritise your assignments first. Whilst your friends have all week to complete work you also have a job to balance, this is not an easy thing to do initially. However, once you work out your balance it becomes second nature.” It can take some time to get into the rhythm of the work and study split and Dan admits that, “in the beginning it was very hard for me. I’m very much work focussed so I fell a bit behind on the apprenticeship. But after support from my manager I got my head around the balance of work and learning.” We recognise that the key to a successful apprenticeship is flexibility and support and we work hard on ensuring all our apprentices have the support they need to s쳮d. Kamilia Kosmowska (Team Leader) said “I find it relatively easy to balance my work and learning, thanks to the exceptional support I receive from managers. They are always willing to assist and demonstrate a strong understanding of the importance of my learning time. Their respect for my development allows me to manage both responsibilities effectively.”

Benefits of an apprenticeship

There are numerous benefits to undertaking an apprenticeship, the most important being the skills that are learnt throughout the programme. Harrison explains: “Throughout my apprenticeship I have learnt a plethora of skills that cross over multiple positions that aren’t always specific to engineering. Of these I would say the most important are project management and people management skills. These are skills that I can use in any employment for the rest of my working life. Aside from these I have learnt many engineering specific skills that I use almost every day to solve problems and improve the business that I work for.” As someone in their early career these skills are invaluable, and Kamilia echoes this sentiment. “Although I am still in the early stages of my apprenticeship, I’ve already begun to develop a more analytical approach to problem-solving. I’ve gained a deeper understanding of strategies and can now view situations from a broader perspective. This has enhanced my ability to think critically and approach challenges with a more strategic mind set. However, I recognise that there is still much to learn as I continue to grow in my role.” Daria feels that she has acquired some key soft skills which will travel with her wherever she goes in her career. “I have primarily developed the ability to handle difficult situations. Self-awareness based on emotional intelligence has caused me not to experience excessive stress at the end of my shift.”